VATICAN CITY, April 20, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Although Pope Benedict XVI said Wednesday, April 20, that he wanted dialogue with other faiths and cultures, some voiced their concern about the new pope’s political opinions and his stand on Islam.
The new pope – Germany’s Joseph Ratzinger – has a couple of political views that were set to draw controversy and were immediately highlighted by world media, following his election late Tuesday.
The most recent of these causes has been Turkey’s attempts to become a member of the European Union. He says allowing the predominantly Muslim nation into Europe’s club would be “an enormous mistake.”
Europe is a “cultural continent, not a geographic one,” he said in 2004, and Turkey has “always represented another continent... in permanent contrast with Europe,” according to Agence France-Presse (AFP) Wednesday.
The matter was highlighted also by the US daily The New York Times in an editorial saying; “On matters of public policy, however, all of us have reason to be concerned about the opinions of the leader of more than one billion Catholics”.
Turkey, Islam
As a cardinal, the new pope inserted himself last year into the political debate over allowing Turkey into the European Union, the paper said, quoting him as saying that “adding Turkey would dilute the culture of what he considers a Christian continent”.
He also said that Turkey, a predominantly Muslim nation of 70 million people, should align itself instead with other Muslim nations.
The paper added that it would be extremely disturbing if the pope became an unnecessary wedge in the process of reconciling the Islamic world with the non-Islamic West.
“It would also be out of keeping with the heritage of John Paul II - who, for all his doctrinal conservatism, was a man known for his outreach to people of other faiths.”
The same concern was present in Turkish newspapers, which expressed concern that the new Pope's past opposition to Ankara joining the European Union on the grounds that it is a Muslim nation could raise fresh obstacles to its membership.
Turkish papers also quoted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying Wednesday he hoped the new pope would soften his stiff opposition to the Muslim nation’s bid to join the European Union.
“He has voiced such views as his personal opinion in the past, but his rhetoric may change from now on,” Erdogan said.
The Roman Catholic Church elected Tuesday Ratzinger, 78, as its first new pope of the third millennium, a choice that was welcomed by conservatives but caused consternation among Church reformers.
Ratzinger was considered to be Pope John Paul II's “right hand man” and also one of his closest friends, and during the Pope's final illness, he carried out many of the Pope’s functions as leader of the Catholic Church.
Apart from his battle against communism and quest for global peace, the late Pope John Paul II who died on Sunday, April 3, is also remembered for as an untiring advocate of Christian unity and inter-religious dialogue.
John Paul II was further known for his love for peace and round rejection of injustices worldwide, criticizing anti-Iraq war, US policies in the Middle East and the Israeli separation wall in the West Bank.
Swift Move
May be that’s why the new pope moved swiftly to allay fears that his papacy would be rigidly inward-looking, saying he wanted dialogue with other faiths and cultures, Reuters reported Wednesday.
“I welcome everybody with simplicity and love to assure them that the Church wants to continue in open and sincere dialogue with them, in search of true good of man and society,” he said at his first public Mass Mass with the red-hatted cardinals who elected him.
The pontiff said he felt his predecessor was guiding him and holding his hand.
“I will spare no effort and commitment to continue the promising dialogue with other civilizations that was started by my venerable predecessors,” he said.
The new pope assurance came on the same day Muslim leaders urged him to follow the path of his predecessor by building bridges between the world's two predominant religions and helping to avoid religious bloodshed, Reuters reported.
“I hope the new Pope will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor and try to bring peace in the world,” said Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a Pakistani Islamic scholar and politician.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-populated state, welcomed Wednesday the appointment of the new pope and aired hopes that he would build on his predecessor’s work to unite Islam and Christianity.
Ratzinger inherits an extraordinary legacy of interfaith dialogue from Pope John Paul, whose death this month brought accolades from the Muslim and Jewish worlds. State leaders from both attended his funeral.
But, a report on FrontPageMagazine.com Wednesday wrote that while “the late Pope kissed the (Noble) Qur’an and pursued a consistent line of conciliation toward the Islamic world… the new Pope Benedict XVI, while no less charitable, has been a bit more forthcoming about the reality of how Islam challenges the Catholic Church, Christianity, and even the post-Christian West.”